Moodle is Taking Off at GippsTAFE

Regular readers of this blog will be aware that GippsTAFE is making the move to Moodle. We are in the middle of the first round of training and there is a positive Moodle buzz about the place.

 No doubt the success of this program is due to the planning undertaken prior to commencement. The plan involved three stages:

• Raising awareness
• Introductory training
• Ongoing Training and Support

 We were keen to create a positive attitude to this program so created a series of splash screens to promote the three stages. These screens appear when users logon to the GippsTAFE network. The screens were based on a sky diving theme. Click the headings below to view the screen associated with each stage of the program.

Raising Awareness

Innovation department members attended meetings at our various campuses and delivered a short presentation about Moodle including information about what it is and the forthcoming changes.

 Introductory Training

Hands on workshops were organised at all campuses of the institute. In this initial round of training two workshops were offered:

• Workshop 1 – Introduction to Moodle
  Participants had the opportunity to
• Participate in a Moodle course
• Edit a Moodle course
• Workshop 2 – Build Your Moodle Course
  Using the basic skills gained in Workshop 1 participants began to design and build their own Moodle courses

 The main aim of these training sessions was to upskill teachers so that they can begin to set up courses for 2012. The sessions included information about migrating existing content from Blackboard to Moodle and emphasised the need to review such resources to ensure they are still up to date and relevant to the course.

 Participants were supplied with introductory support documents.

Ongoing Training and Support

Moodle training will continue throughout 2012. In Term 1 the focus will be on using Moodle as a teacher. Future sessions will focus on different aspects of Moodle and how they can be effectively used.

 Support materials for both teachers and students will be developed and added to the GippsTAFE Online Learning Help Guides as needs are identified.

Factors Contributing to Success

We developed a GippsTAFE theme in Moodle which includes links to GippsTAFE information and policies. This helps teachers comply with AQTF standards.

We created a simple course in Moodle with a minimum number of blocks and are using this as the template for new courses. This means teachers are starting with the basics and can add more complexity as needed.

Teachers all have access to the demonstration course used in the workshops. Training resources are available for teachers to access.

Teachers have been encouraged to develop their own course templates with their preferred layout and colour scheme and include any information they need in all courses. This material can then be copied into all their courses to save time on repetitive tasks.